Release
by madame.alexandra
Summary: If the black spot hadn't appeared...and the kiss we all screamed for had gone on...what would have happened between the Sparrow and the Swann? R&R!
1. Temptation

**A/N If this all seems a bit familiar, that's because it is, but before you give up on me, I ask you this question: What would have happened, in the "I do want to know what it tastes like" scene…if the black spot **_**hadn't**_** appeared?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POTC. It belongs to dirty, nasty Willabethers by the name of "Disney". Psh.**

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"You'll have the chance to do something…something courageous. And when you do, you'll discover something,"

Jack looked over at Elizabeth with his eyebrows raised slightly, his expression bored, waiting for the comment she'd probably been perfecting all day.

"That you're a good man." Elizabeth finished, almost mockingly. Jack smirked and turned his head.

"All evidence to the contrary." He answered smartly, looking down and running his pal along the smooth surface of the _Pearl_. Elizabeth laughed softly.

"Oh, I have faith in you. Do you want to know why?" she asked childishly, batting her long lashes, twisting around to face him with pursed lips. Jack rolled his eyes lazily, playing along.

"Do tell, dearie." He sighed sarcastically. Elizabeth fluttered her eyelashes temptingly again and slipped in front of him, turning her head up, unbearably close.

"Curiosity." She said, the corners of her mouth turning up in a teasing smile. Jack looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, turning his head towards her, his attention caught. "You're going to want it," Elizabeth continued, lowering her voice. "A chance to be admired and gain the rewards that follow." She laughed, tauntingly. "You won't be able to resist."

Her voice lowered again and she moved closer, looking at him through her lashes. Jack's blood boiled as he challenged her eyes…daring her to go on.

"You're going to want to know…what it tastes like."

She was so close to him now, her breath brushing his lips softly as she spoke, her tantalizing mouth just inches from his. Jack stared at her, his eyes gleaming, and turned closer, tired of wasting time. She sent shivers down his spine, made his skin crawl, set his nerves on fire.

"I do want to know what it tastes like." Her murmured huskily.

"But…seeing as you're a good man," she whispered innocently, turning her head up as he stepped closer. Jack grazed his fingers along her cheek and against her hair as she spoke; leaning in closer to her mouth with every word until her lips almost brushed his as she spoke. "I know you would never put me in a position that would compromise my honor—"

Her last words where barely spoken when Jack closed his mouth on hers, tangling his hand in her hair and drawing her tightly against him. She was so close, but he wanted her closer, needed her closer.

Elizabeth trembled and her body seemed to shrink in his arms. She slipped her hands up to his neck and touched him gently, parting her lips ever so slightly. Jack moved his hand down her back, keeping her pressed against him. She squeezed the collar of his coat and turned her head slightly, suddenly, to the side, so he kissed her cheek.

"Jack…" she whispered, reaching up to touch his face. Her eyes sparkled with sadness, with guilt, even shame. "This is wrong." Her voice quavered. Jack lifted his head with an impatient sight and gave her a look.

"Feels right to me, love." He said with a shrug, leaning in to recapture her lips, aching to taste her on his lips again. Elizabeth pulled back, shaking her head.

"What…what about Will?" she asked, moving his hand off her back. He jerked it out of her gently grasp and brought it to her hair.

"What about 'im? He's not here to object, is he?" Jack answered, pulling her back. Elizabeth closed her eyes and pulled his hand away from her cheek.

"I love him."

"Do you?" Jack challenged softly, his dark eyes staring firmly, unwavering, into hers. He smirked when she failed to answer. "I can see right through you, darling."

"Stop it, Jack. You know I love Will. I- I don't know what happened here- It was wrong! I love him." Elizabeth reiterated, her face hardening. She hated how his knowing eyes made her question herself so deeply, brought her doubts to the surface. Jack jerked his hands out of her grasp again.

"You show it so well, Lizzie." He snapped sardonically. She flinched, still trying to look firm in her conviction, though the truth in his barb rang loudly in her ears, attached itself to her heart.

"You manipulated me!" she accused sharply, a little bit desperately, hating herself for giving such a weak reason. She needed to get a way, now. Before her walls came crumbling down. Jack was laughing at her, cruelly.

"You tried so hard to get away, love. Kicking and screaming, weren't you?" he leered, and dangerous edge to his voice. HE grabbed her wrists and pulled her close again. "You want me to manipulate you?" he asked, his voice like she'd never heard it before. Poisonous, dark, threatening.

"Let me go, Jack." She demanded, pulling at her wrists, genuinely frightened.

"Do you really want me to?" Jack growled in a low voice. She swallowed, and Jack smirked nastily when he saw the conflict flare in her eyes. He kissed her again, roughly, with reckless abandon this time, and threw her against the side of the ship. She gasped as her back hit the ridge, and tears sprang to her eyes more of shock than actual pain.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Jack snapped, "Just what dear William might feel should he discover what a lying, shameless little _vixen_ you've become."

He scowled and turned away from her tears, leaving her slumped against the side of the ship.

Elizabeth touched her lips, remembering the feel of his mouth hot against hers. She squeezed her eyes shut and moaned softly, wondering who she was hurting more by carrying on with this deception, this lie she weaved around herself, a web so think because she refused to let herself give in to sweet sine. Who _was _she hurting more, Will? Or…_herself? _

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**A/N: Review, please!!!! And hey, do me a favor: go watch that scene on your DVD, and give me your opinion on how I captured the movements and emotions of the scene. I'd love you forever. Well, I'll love you forever if you just review…please...:)**


	2. Consumation

Elizabeth stared blankly into the distance, her eyes glazed, listening to Jack bark orders to the crew as day faded into night, She watched the sun set, numb to the noises around her, locked inside herself. She looked over to the higher deck, feeling her eyes sting with unwanted tears again. She touched her lips again, calling back the memory of his mouth hot against hers and turned away, shutting her eyes against the dizzying image.

The ship rolled suddenly to the side, drawing shouts of surprise and alarm from the crew. Elizabeth, having been too slow to catch hold of something steady, lost her footing and shrieked as she pitched backward and fell hard against the stairs. She gasped in shock and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get her breath back. She reached out to pull herself up with a groan and caught fabric between her fingers. Jack was behind her on the stairs.

He barely looked at her as he helped her up, just slipped his arm firmly around her back and steadied her on her feet. He took his coat off, dropped it wordlessly over her shivering and now wet shoulders, and started off towards his cabin, not affording her a second chance.

Elizabeth turned sharply and followed his retreating back with her eyes, touching the place on her waist where his hand had lingered, lingered perhaps a second too long and made her want him to touch her again and again. Jack looked up to the wheel, spoke harshly to Cotton, and slammed the door of the cabin with an unnecessary force that betrayed his own emotions.

Elizabeth turned away and pulled his coat closer, breathing in his intoxicating scent of rum and saltwater. She remembered the feel of his hands on her cheek, his lips on her skin, the warmth of his body against hers. She put a hand over her mouth to muffle a sob and sank to the ship's deck, tears pricking insistently at her eyes again. Elizabeth pulled Jack's coat around to her lap and buried her face in the collar, feeling like her world was crumbling around her.

Jack stabbed his knife into the navigational charts in front of him and leaned back in his chair with a bottle of rum. He shoved his compass off the table with his boot, tired of looking at the buggering thing, and gazed at his bottle of rum moodily, ignoring the thud of the compass against the floor.

"S'just you and me, mate." He muttered sarcastically, toasting himself. He closed his eyes and tipped the rum into his mouth. He swallowed, and held the bottle in front of him, eyeing it appreciatively.

"Good stuff, that is." He complimented. He was just bringing the neck of the bottle back to his mouth when Elizabeth opened the door.

He squinted at her, just to make sure he wasn't having some kind of rum-induced hallucination, and then raised and eyebrow and gave Elizabeth -who was in fact, real – a smirk.

"Evenin', Miss Swann." He greeted in a mockingly formal voice. "Curiosity got the best of ye?" he gave her a devilish grin and went back to his bottle. The cabin door shut and Jack took another drink without giving a second look to the flighty murderess. "'Ave you come to tell me again how very much you love young Turner? Because really, love, I'm not in the mood just now."

"Jack…" Elizabeth said softly, flinching at the sharpness of his tasteless words. Jack turned suddenly and looked straight at her face for the first time when he caught the tremble in her voice, the pleading in her tone. His smirk faded to a slight frown when he caught the look in her liquid doe's eyes.

"Wha's wrong?" he asked, his chair falling back to all four legs with a _thud_ as he watched her closely. "What's _wrong, _Lizzie?" he demanded again, realizing she was about to cry. He stood up and started towards her, determined not to have that bewitching woman crying in his cabin, only to have her slip his coat off her shoulders and hold it out between them before he could get close. Jack took it slowly and gave it a confused look. Then he looked back at Elizabeth and raised an eyebrow.

"Did me coat do something to offend you?" he asked in a slightly amused way. Elizabeth shook her head and looked at him with glistening eyes, he shoulders just barely shaking.

"Why'd you do it, Jack?" she asked softly, looking somewhat like a beaten animal. Jack ran the day through his mind, trying to pick out anything he could have said that would have summoned tears in the lass, and came up short.

"No idea what you mean, love." He answered, lowering his hand and tossing his coat to the side.

"Why did you have to kiss me?" Elizabeth asked in a trembling voice. She finally lifted her eyes to his and for once found no joke in his dark eyes, no teasing glint. He simply looked back at her with something almost akin to pain in his kohl-lined eyes.

"You know why I kissed you, darling," he answered solemnly. "Question is, why'd you kiss _back_?"

"I…" Elizabeth whispered, stricken. "I don't _know_!" she cried louder, her fragile composure seeming to shatter with that simple admittance. She started to cry, choked voice gaining steadily in volume.

"I just- _God_, Jack! I don't understand my own _feelings_ anymore! Every time you look at me, when you get _near_ me, I—I could just forget Will ever existed and let you take me in your arms and do whatever you please with me because _I can't take it anymore_! These feelings, Jack- _nothing_ makes sense, it's…oh, _God_, when you _touch_ me Jack! I—"

Jack reached out and pulled her in close, turning her head into his shoulder to calm her hysteria. Elizabeth seemed to melt against him, her body shaking with sobs. He combed through her hair with his fingers as she struggled to regain composure.

"I _want_ you to touch me…" she admitted in a soft, almost shamed whisper, her voice breaking at the end, knowing that every moment she stayed in his arms was a step closer to the point of no return.

Jack pressed his lips against the crown of her head and moved his hand slowly down her back, bringing it to rest lightly on her hip, splaying his fingers out. Elizabeth lifted her head from his strong shoulder at the light touch and found shi eyes, tears still wet on her cheeks. He touched her face with his free hand and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. Elizabeth turned her face into his palm, lips barely parted.

HE gripped her waist firmly and pulled her in tight, closing the gap between their lips with the barest of hesitation. Elizabeth's knees buckled and she leaned into Jack, clutching at his shirt for support. He caught her around the middle to steady her and backed her up against the cabin wall, pressing tightly against her.

Elizabeth's head swam as she tried to keep up, her head jumping from his hands to his mouth and back again. She wound her hand into his thick dreadlocks and parted her lips, desperate to taste him in her mouth again. Jack ran his tongue along her trembling bottom lip, sending shivers down her spine, coaxing her mouth open further. Elizabeth clutched his shoulder tighter and pulled her head back slightly, gasping for breath just inches from his mouth.

Jack pulled back as well, his ragged breathing matching hers, and touched her face, stroking his fingers over her flushed cheek and down her neck. His hand traveled over her collarbone and down her side, barely grazing her breast. Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat as he slipped his hand under the shirt she wore, moving it across her stomach and over her rips. The sensation of his rough, warm fingers on her skin made her muscles tighten with anticipation; her body ached for more.

Jack leaned in close again, his lips nearly touching her ear, his hand still exploring her under the thin whit shirt.

"You wanted me to touch you, Lizzie." He whispered throatily, his breath warm and enticing against her cheek. He kissed her below the ear, scraping his teeth gently down her neck, lingering against her throat. He untucked her shirt and slid it slowly upwards, lifting it over her head when no protest stopped him.

She was so beautiful; so unlike the hardened women he'd known before. He let his eyes slide over her, drinking her in, memorizing every freckle, every battle scar that marred her smooth white skin, until he felt her hand tighten in his hair.

He looked up and found her watching him uncertainly, a nervous look in her golden-brown eyes, a pink blush creeping up her neck, tinting her nose and cheeks. Jack kept his eyes on hers as he drew his hand over her bare skin, touching her breast, her rips, any part of her skin he could reach.

Elizabeth dug her nails into Jack's shoulder, her heart pounding in her chest, her breath quickening. A soft moan escaped her lips, her trembling hand fell from his hair to his back, where she pushed up his shirt and scraped her nails across his skin.

Jack's muscles tightened; he slid his hand to the small of her back and kissed her again, this time with a heated urgency that rendered Elizabeth incapable of any further coherent thought. Elizabeth surrendered herself to the intensity of the feeling, gave in to his desire, closed her eyes and let Jack lead her into the throes of passion, forbidden and unknown. The world blurred around her, until all that she knew, all that mattered, was the indescribable feeling Jack's touch elicited, the heat building in her body that she barely understood.

Jack lifted her up, and the next moment the cool sheets were pressed against her back, her head was sinking into the pillows, and Jack was kissing her neck, her shoulders, his skin bare and hot against hers.

"Jack," she gasped, panic suddenly gripping her. Her body tensed, and she braced her palms against his shoulders, breathing hard. "Jack," she repeated a bit softer. She squeezed his shoulders, her eyes uncertain and anxious.

Jack stopped and looked at her ,questioning. He lifted and eyebrow when he caught the look in her wide eyes.

"You're a virgin," he said, more a statement then a question. Elizabeth nodded, her cheeks flushing, and Jack reached out to touch her face. "I might hurt you, Lizzie." He warned softly, stroking her cheek. Elizabeth nodded again trusting him. He bent to kiss herm and ran his hand through her loose curls, distracting her with his mouth.

It did hurt, at first, and Elizabeth pulled hard on Jack's hair to keep from crying out. She broke the kiss and barely had time to take a breath before Jack pulled her lips towards him and resumed it hungrily.

It was a moment of pain followed by indescribably sensations, feelings of heat, passion, of arousal and pleasure that seemed to rock her to the soul. It was intimacy at its core, an expression of lust, of love and want that fueled a carnal need for a glorious release. She touched him—gently, roughly—held him desperately close as he held her until the moment reached its zenith and left her trembling in his arms, her hair a mass of wet curls, his sweat mingling with hers and their eyes locked together in an expression of fire, surrender, and ultimate satisfaction.

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**A/N: Well, this chapter was a bit longer and (I hope) much more gratifying than the otehr, no? I hope to get the next (and last) part up soon, and I think it might have a son worked into it- don't forget to give me my feedback:)**

**alexa**


	3. Iris

**A/N: Song is "**_**Iris**_**" by the Goo Goo Dolls, and I don't own it, I just LOVE it.**

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The sun was just beginning to stretch its pale, early morning rays over the horizon when Elizabeth awoke. She slipped out of Jack's arms, careful not to wake him, and drew the covers up to her chest as she sat up, her hair falling over her back; a messy waterfall of curls. She remained still for a moment, still holding the sheets, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, drinking in and memorizing every detail of this forbidden morning.

She dressed swiftly, leaving her hair down and her coat thrown over a wooden chair, and left the cabin without a sound. She took the stairs to the steering deck slowly, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself in the chilly dawn air. Elizabeth stood at the bow of the _Black Pearl_, gazing out over the crystal blue Caribbean Sea, tendrils of her hair blowing around her face. The sun began to climb higher, its brightening rays causing the rolling waves to shimmer. A songbird swooped low over the water, dipping its tail gracefully behind it.

It didn't startle her when she felt his hand on her shoulder; she'd heard his boots against the deck behind her mere seconds before. His hand, warm and welcome on her skin through the thin fabric of her white shirt, traced the hem of her collar where it gave way to skin.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

'_Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to Heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly, letting his fingers leave their imprint against her flesh, and turned around hesitantly. Jack took her waist and pulled her close, meeting her with a kiss reminiscent of the night's passion. Elizabeth clung to him, savoring this ill-fated, bittersweet moment, steeling herself for the heartache of the next.

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

'_Cause sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

God, she never wanted this to end. She wanted to stay in his arms forever, liberated from the demands of society, free to speak her mind and do as she pleased. This was what Jack meant to her, was for her. He embodied her hidden desires and offered her not just a moment but a lifetime of freedom, passion. It what was she tasted on his lips; the sea, adventure, risk, no rules and the reins of her destiny in her hands and hers alone. He was everything she wanted, everything she needed and loved, and everything she could never have.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

The kiss broke, but neither pulled back. Elizabeth's uneven breath brushed against his lips, sending shivers down his spine. Her unsteady hand tightened where it rested at the nape of his neck. She lifted her dark lashes, unshielding her beautiful copper eyes, and betrayed her every thought in the one tortured glance she allowed him before she began to harden her eyes and rebuild her walls, imprisoning herself again.

"Jack," it was a quietly spoken, beginning of a rebuke that shuddered, like she hadn't quite gathered her bearings or her gall to lie bold-faced yet. Elizabeth slipped her hands to his shoulders, splaying her palms against them. Jack felt her body tremble as she drew in a breath. "This…was a mistake."

"Don't know if I'd call it that, love." Jack answered lightly, his eyebrows raised. She held his gaze; swallowed.

"It was wrong, a mistake I can't fix," again, that slight shudder in her voice that made everything seem like it could be shattered if he said just the right thing to stop her. "It will always be on my conscience. It never should have happened—I never wanted this." Her voice wavered dangerously, though it was almost imperceptible, but her eyes swam with dammed up tears. Jack tightened his arm around her waist, his familiar smirk creeping back across his lips.

"Much harder to tell the lie when there's one more person knows the truth behind, is it now, Lizzie?" he asked, holding her gaze so fiercely that she couldn't look away.

Tears spilled onto her cheeks, glinting there like miniscule diamonds. For all her strengths, for all the cunning lies shed let slide off her forked tongue in the tightest of situations, she couldn't seem to keep her bearings now; he found it so easy o see her fragility.

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_Of the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_And you bleed just to know you're alive_

"I don't want to hurt Will. I do love him, Jack."

The desperate way she said it—as if trying to convince herself—only made her sentiment weaker. He pressed her against the side of the ship suddenly, seized with such anger, frustration, and pressed his lips to hers, feeling her resistance against his shoulders and refusing to let up until she surrendered beneath him again. He felt her tears on his lips, her nails digging into his skin as she gave back to the kiss passionately, angrily, and brokenly all at once, as if she were trying to take all of him she could with her.

He hated her, wanted her, loved her, and needed her all at once. He wanted to bend her, break her, bring her to her knees, tear down whatever barriers where holding her back. He loved how she challenged his every order and action, her sharp tongue and unpredictability fascinated and aroused him, he wanted her in his bed every night, needed her voice raised in defiance against him only to be silenced in moments like these later. He wanted to see her free, and in the middle of all the passion, the desire he felt now, he hated her for the weakness she harbored, her inability to risk her life, her security, on a chance. She saw parts of him hidden from the world, from himself even. She _knew_ him.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

Her moment of surrender was over too quickly. They stood against the bow, lips inches apart, holding each other's gaze; one pleading, the other challenging.

"I…can't."

He gave her a sardonic grin, is dark eyes malicious, and mockingly flourished his arm towards the stairs.

"Give dear William my regards then, darling." He said almost cruelly, turning his back on her, knowing he would hurt most this way, feeling satisfaction and sorrow at once. She was gone, the lingering sound o f her choked sob like salt in his wounds. After a moment, he turned, his eyes sweeping the ship, and found her at the stern, far way, obviously crying, looking small against the ocean backdrop. His fingers slid over the glossy wood of his compass as he opened it, hatred her of her and himself mixed with fierce longing coursing through his veins.

_I just want you to know who I am_

The needle still pointed to _her_.

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**A/N: And, of course, after this, DMC continues. I hope the songfic worked out as well as I envisioned it, and I hope this was a satisfying conclusion…even if it wasn't a happy ending. Call it a fairytale gone bad, eh? Please review!!!!**

**alexa**


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